Method and apparatus for playing casino card game

ABSTRACT

A method of playing a card game includes the steps of: (a) placing an ante bet; (b) receiving at least one player-specific card; (c) receiving at least one face-up community card; (d) receiving at least one face-down community card; and (e) determining whether to drop out or to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, and if a determination is made to drop out, collecting winnings or forfeiting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards, and if a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, placing a buy bet and allowing one of the face-down community cards to be flipped so as to be face-up. Payouts are made accordingly.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to playing card wagering games that can be played with a standard deck (or decks) of cards or by video machine technology in a casino, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for playing a wagering game which is a variation of poker and which is house-banked.

1. Background of the Invention

As a leisure time activity, poker and other card games have fascinated the public for a very long time. Numerous variations of the game of poker including variations on stud poker and draw poker are well known to those in the art. The game is frequently played at home with three or more players betting against each other as to who has the best poker hand.

Poker-style card games have also been played in gaming casinos for many years. Normally gaming casinos provide segregated poker rooms in which a number of players gather around a poker table and play whatever type of poker game is being dealt at that table. The casino provides the dealers, handles the exchange of money for gaming chips and takes a percentage of each poker pot as the fee or “rake” for its services.

These types of live poker played in legalized gambling establishments, such as those in Atlantic City or Las Vegas, are not believed to be widely accepted by the average patron. Many may be afraid to play due to the reputation that “card sharks” are waiting for the unsuspecting player to come along. Such live games may, therefore, be intimidating to a novice or even an average poker player who may wish to participate.

One of the most popular live poker games played in many casinos is seven card stud. The game is well known to the average player and is relatively easy to understand and play. A significant problem with the game, however, particularly for the novice player, is that, even at low limits, the five rounds of betting and five raises can become extremely costly for a player to play even a single hand. This can be an expensive way for new players to learn the game.

Because of the foregoing, many novice players avoid playing live poker games in casinos. As a result, the current player base may consist of a group of regular players who dominate the games and often regard the newcomers as “fish”. These regular players may tend to hang out in poker rooms of particular casinos that may cater to them.

In many casinos, the above-described problems with live poker games have been addressed and attempts have been made to fill the void by providing a plurality of poker-style table games that are banked by the house and that are easily played and understood. Games that have achieved some substantial popularity in this regard are Caribbean Stud Poker (described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553) and Let It Ride (described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081). A house-banked game is a game in which the gaming establishment pays all winning hands and collects all losing hands. Many of these games have proved to be very popular with players of all types. However, they do suffer from a number of disadvantages.

One of such disadvantages associated with conventional table poker games like Caribbean Stud and Let it Ride is that the games take a relatively long time to play. As such, the casinos offering such games make less money than they would if the game was faster in pace. It has been found, for example, that in the case of Caribbean Stud and Let it Ride, only 22-25 hands are dealt per hour per table. If this number could be increased, the amount of money generated for the casino could be proportionately increased.

As pointed out above, conventional well known forms of poker are not widely accepted by the average gaming patron. Such players do, however, seem to enjoy playing poker-style table games. The poker-style card game of the present invention has been created as a house-banked table game to be played by players of all experience levels and is believed to fill a need for the novice, average or even expert poker player.

Additionally, with the advent of computer electronics, one player poker games played on electronic gaming machines have also become quite popular. The most popular of these games is five card draw poker wherein the player attempts to achieve a high ranking poker hand from his initially dealt five cards and any draw replacement cards. A payout table is provided that pays the player various multiples of his wager depending on the rank of poker hand that he has achieved.

Although five card draw poker is the most popular electronic video poker game, many other variations of poker have also been proposed in the electronic form. These include Joker's Wild, Deuces Wild and five and seven card stud. Each has its unique payout table reflecting the relative odds of achieving various poker hand rankings. It is contemplated that the game of the present invention may be incorporated into such electronic video poker machines.

What is desired, therefore, is a poker-style card game which is house banked, which is relatively easy to understand and play, which takes a relatively short time to deal and play, and which is readily adaptable for play on electronic video poker machines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a poker-style card game which is house banked.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a poker-style card game having the above characteristics and which is relatively easy to understand and play.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a poker-style card game having the above characteristics and which takes a relatively short time to deal and play.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a poker-style card game having the above characteristics and which is readily adaptable for play on electronic video poker machines.

These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in one embodiment by provision of a method of playing a card game utilizing at least one deck of playing cards, the method including the steps of: (a) placing an ante bet; (b) receiving at least one player-specific card; (c) receiving at least one face-up community card; (d) receiving at least one face-down community card; (e) determining whether to drop out or to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, and if a determination is made to drop out, collecting winnings or forfeiting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards, and if a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, placing a buy bet and allowing one of the face-down community cards to be flipped so as to be face-up; and (f) if a determination was made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up each time step (e) was performed, repeating step (e) until no community cards remain face-down, and collecting winnings or forfeiting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards.

In some embodiments, the step of receiving at least one player-specific card comprises the step of receiving two player-specific cards. In some embodiments, the step of receiving at least one player-specific card comprises the step of receiving, face down, at least one player-specific card. In some embodiments, the step of receiving at least one face-up community card comprises the step of receiving one face-up community card. In some embodiments, the step of receiving at least one face-down community card comprises the step of receiving three face-down community cards.

In some embodiments, the ante bet comprises $5.00. In certain of these embodiments, each buy bet comprises $1.00. In certain embodiments, the step of receiving at least one face-down community card comprises the step of receiving three face-down community cards, the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises $1.00, the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises $1.00, and the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises zero. In other embodiments, the step of receiving at least one face-down community card comprises the step of receiving three face-down community cards, the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises $1.00, the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises $2.00, and the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises $3.00. In still other embodiments, the step of receiving at least one face-down community card comprises the step of receiving three face-down community cards, the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises a first amount of money, the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises a second amount of money, and the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises zero. In certain of these embodiments, the first amount of money and the second amount of money are identical. In some embodiments, the card game is played on a computer.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method of playing a card game utilizing at least one deck of playing cards includes the steps of: (a) placing an ante bet; (b) receiving two face-down player-specific cards; (c) receiving one face-up community card; (d) receiving three face-down community cards; (e) determining whether to drop out or to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, and if a determination is made to drop out, collecting winnings or forfeiting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards, and if a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, placing a buy bet and allowing one of the face-down community cards to be flipped so as to be face-up; and (f) if a determination was made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up each time step (e) was performed, repeating step (e) until no community cards remain face-down, and collecting winnings or forfeiting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, a method of dealing a card game played by at least one player utilizing at least one deck of playing cards includes the steps of: (a) receiving an ante bet; (b) dealing at least one player-specific card; (c) dealing at least one face-up community card; (d) dealing at least one face-down community card; (e) receiving from the player an indication of a decision whether to drop out or to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, and if a determination is made to drop out, paying winnings or collecting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards, and if a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, receiving a buy bet and flipping over one of the face-down community cards so as to be face-up; and (f) if a determination was made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up each time step (e) was performed, repeating step (e) until no community cards remain face-down, and paying winnings or collecting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards.

In some embodiments, the step of dealing at least one player-specific card comprises the step of dealing two player-specific cards. In some embodiments, the step of dealing at least one player-specific card comprises the step of dealing, face down, at least one player-specific card. In some embodiments, the step of dealing at least one face-up community card comprises the step of dealing one face-up community card. In some embodiments, the step of dealing at least one face-down community card comprises the step of dealing three face-down community cards.

In some embodiments, the ante bet comprises $5.00. In certain of these embodiments, each buy bet comprises $1.00. In certain embodiments, the step of dealing at least one face-down community card comprises the step of dealing three face-down community cards, the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises $1.00, the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises $1.00, and the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises zero. In other embodiments, the step of dealing at least one face-down community card comprises the step of dealing three face-down community cards, the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises $1.00, the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises $2.00, and the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises $3.00. In still other embodiments, the step of dealing at least one face-down community card comprises the step of dealing three face-down community cards, the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises a first amount of money, the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises a second amount of money, and the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises zero. In certain of these embodiments, the first amount of money and the second amount of money are identical. In some embodiments, the card game is dealt automatically on a computer.

In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, a method of dealing a card game played by at least one player utilizing at least one deck of playing cards includes the steps of: (a) receiving an ante bet; (b) dealing two face-down player-specific cards; (c) dealing one face-up community card; (d) dealing three face-down community cards; (e) receiving from the player an indication of a decision whether to drop out or to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, and if a determination is made to drop out, paying winnings or collecting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards, and if a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, receiving a buy bet and flipping over one of the face-down community cards so as to be face-up; and (f) if a determination was made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up each time step (e) was performed, repeating step (e) until no community cards remain face-down, and paying winnings or collecting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards.

In accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for facilitating the dealing and play of a card game played by at least one player utilizing at least one deck of playing cards includes an area for each player designated for receiving an ante bet, an area for each player designated for receiving at least one player-specific card, an area designated for receiving at least one face-up community card, an area designated for receiving at least one face-down community card, and an area designated for receiving from the player a buy bet each time a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up.

In some embodiments, the area designated for receiving at least one face-down community card comprises three separate areas designated for receiving three face-down community cards. In some embodiments, the area designated for receiving at least one face-up community card consists of a single area designated for receiving a single face-up community card.

In accordance with yet still another embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for facilitating the dealing and play of a card game played by at least one player utilizing at least one deck of playing cards includes an area for each player designated for receiving an ante bet, an area for each player designated for receiving at least one player-specific card, an area designated for receiving one face-up community card, three separate areas designated for receiving three face-down community cards, and an area designated for receiving from the player a buy bet each time a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up.

The invention and its particular features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered with reference to the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a gaming table apparatus used in conjunction with playing the card game of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawing in detail, there is shown in FIG. 1 a gaming table layout designated generally as 10 and which is particularly suitable for playing the poker-style game of the present invention. The layout 10 is formed on a table similar to that used for black jack, Caribbean Stud Poker, Let It Ride and the like. The table includes a dealer's area with a chip rack 12, a card shoe or a shuffling machine 14, a discard tray 16, an up-card box 18, a first down-card box 20, a second down-card box 22 and a third down-card box 24. The table layout 10 also includes a number of player spots or areas 26. In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, there are seven player areas 26 shown. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, however, the actual number of player areas can be varied according to the desires of the house. For example, it has been found that providing six player areas 26 provides particularly desirable odds. Furthermore, and as will also be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, while the table layout 10 may include seven (or more or less) player areas 26, it is not necessary that all of them be utilized when the game is being played.

Each playing area 26 includes a card box 28, an ante bet area 30 and a buy bet area 32. The ante bet area 30 and the buy bet area 32 are preferably arranged at the end of the player area 26 closest to the dealer. The card box 28 of each of the player areas 26 is of sufficient size to enable a dealer to place two playing cards therein in a side-by-side arrangement. The ante bet area 30 and the buy bet area 32 are of sufficient size to allow gaining chips to be placed therein, and are, of course, the places where each of the players will place his or her bets. The meaning and significance of the terms “ante bet” and “buy bet” in connection with the game of the present invention will become apparent hereinafter.

Preferably, table layout 10 includes a printed area 34 which includes printed rules of the game and/or a payout table or schedule, the particulars of which are set forth below.

The poker-type game of the present invention is played essentially in the following manner. Initially, each player places an ante wager in the ante bet box 30. The amount of the first or ante wager must be at least the table minimum, but no more than the table maximum. For example, the table minimum may be $5.00, while the table maximum may be $100.00. Of course, other minimums and/or maximums may be employed.

After each player has placed his/her ante wager, the dealer deals two cards to each player in each player's card box 28. These two cards may be dealt face up or face down, with face down being preferred. This can be done either by dealing one card to each player and then a second card to each player or by dealing two cards directly to each player. Next, the dealer deals four cards, which cards are common to all players in the game, in the up-card box 18, first down-card box 20, second down-card box 22 and third down-card box 24. As the names of the boxes indicate, the card dealt into box 18 is preferably dealt face-up, while the cards dealt into boxes 20, 22, 24 are preferably dealt face down. Preferably, the players should not be permitted to touch their cards until the dealer finishes dealing and signals them that it is okay.

After all cards are dealt, each player is able to see three cards in his/her hand, the two cards specific to each player and the one common card dealt face up (i.e., the one in box 18). Each player now makes a decision whether to buy the first down card (i.e., the one in box 20). Preferably, the dealer prompts each player for his/her decision beginning at the dealer's left and rotating clockwise. If the player decides to stay in, he/she places the required buy bet into his/her buy bet box 32. For example, the required buy bet on a $5.00 minimum ante table may be $1.00. Obviously, however, the rules could be varied to allow different amounts of the buy bet to be required at this point. If the player decides not to buy the first down card, the player either loses if the minimum hand according to the payout chart is not achieved (in which case his/her ante bet is collected by the dealer and placed in the rack 12) or collects a payout according to the payout chart if at least the minimum hand according to the payout chart is achieved (in which case the dealer pays the player his/her winnings from the rack 12) and his/her cards are collected by the dealer and placed in the discard tray 16. The dealer now flips over the first down card (i.e., the one in box 20) for all players to see.

The same procedure is followed before the second down card (i.e., the one in box 22) is flipped. The required buy bet for the second down card may be the same as for the first down card (e.g., $1.00 on a $5.00 minimum ante table) or may be different (for example, $2.00 on a $5.00 minimum ante table).

With respect to the third down card (i.e., the one in box 24), in some embodiments, this card is a “bonus” card, and the players are not required to buy it (i.e. it is flipped for free). In other embodiments, the same procedure as described above in connection with the first and second down cards is followed before the third down card is flipped. The required buy bet for the second down card may be the same as for the first and/or second down cards (e.g., $1.00 or $2.00 on a $5.00 minimum ante table) or may be different (for example, $3.00 on a $5.00 minimum ante table).

After all three down cards are flipped, each player will now have a hand of six cards (the two player-specific cards and the four common cards). Each player makes the best five-card poker hand from these six cards just as in regular poker. At this point, each player remaining in the game either loses if the minimum hand according to the payout chart is not achieved (in which case his/her ante bet is collected by the dealer and placed in the rack 12) or collects a payout according to the payout chart if at least the minimum hand according to the payout chart is achieved (in which case the dealer pays the player his/her winnings from the rack 12) and his/her cards are collected by the dealer and placed in the discard tray 16.

Although, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, any of numerous payout charts/schemes may be employed, it has been found that for the game of the present invention, the following payout chart provides acceptable odds: Pair of 9's or better  1-1 (even money) Two pair  2-1 Three of a kind  3-1 Straight  4-1 Flush  5-1 Full House  6-1 Four of a kind  20-1 Straight flush  50-1 Royal straight flush 200-1

In addition to the regular payout chart, additional bonuses may optionally be offered. For example, in one contemplated embodiment, in addition to the 20-1 payout for four of a kind, four 1's (aces) may be paid a bonus of $100.00, four 2's may be paid a bonus of $200.00, and four 3's may be paid a bonus of $300.00. Of course, other bonuses, or no bonuses at all, may be paid.

In order to increase the rate at which the game of the present invention can be played, an auto-shuffler is preferably employed and two decks of cards are preferably used (one deck in play and one deck in the auto-shuffler). After removing the cards from the auto-shuffler, the dealer preferably riffles the cards once, strips them four times, riffles once more and then deals two cards in succession to each player and four community cards as discussed in more detail above. Using this method of shuffling/dealing, it has been found that the card game of the present invention allows 41-45 hands per hour per table to be played, almost double that of Caribbean Stud and/or Let It Ride.

In the electronic or video slot version of the invention, there would preferably be only one player's hand. However, in all other respects, the rules of the game remain the same. Of course, as is common with video poker machines, the ante bets and buy bets may be smaller (e.g., $1.00 for the ante bet and $0.25 for the buy bets) than in the table version.

The present invention, therefore, provides a poker-style card game which is house banked, which is relatively easy to understand and play, which takes a relatively short time to deal and play, and which is readily adaptable for play on electronic video poker machines.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular arrangement of parts, features and the like, these are not intended to exhaust all possible arrangements or features, and indeed many other modifications and variations will be ascertainable to those of skill in the art. 

1. A method of playing a card game utilizing at least one deck of playing cards, said method comprising the steps of: (a) placing an ante bet; (b) receiving at least one player-specific card; (c) receiving at least one face-up community card; (d) receiving at least one face-down community card; (e) determining whether to drop out or to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, and if a determination is made to drop out, collecting winnings or forfeiting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards, and if a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, placing a buy bet and allowing one of the face-down community cards to be flipped so as to be face-up; and (f) if a determination was made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up each time step (e) was performed, repeating step (e) until no community cards remain face-down, and collecting winnings or forfeiting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of receiving at least one player-specific card comprises the step of receiving two player-specific cards.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of receiving at least one player-specific card comprises the step of receiving, face down, at least one player-specific card.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of receiving at least one face-up community card comprises the step of receiving one face-up community card.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of receiving at least one face-down community card comprises the step of receiving three face-down community cards.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the ante bet comprises $5.00.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein each buy bet comprises $1.00.
 8. The method of claim 6 wherein said step of receiving at least one face-down community card comprises the step of receiving three face-down community cards, wherein the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises $1.00, wherein the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises $1.00, and wherein the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises zero.
 9. The method of claim 6 wherein said step of receiving at least one face-down community card comprises the step of receiving three face-down community cards, wherein the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises $1.00, wherein the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises $2.00, and wherein the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises $3.00.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of receiving at least one face-down community card comprises the step of receiving three face-down community cards, wherein the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises a first amount of money, wherein the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises a second amount of money, and wherein the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises zero.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the first amount of money and the second amount of money are identical.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein said card game is played on a computer.
 13. A method of playing a card game utilizing at least one deck of playing cards, said method comprising the steps of: (a) placing an ante bet; (b) receiving two face-down player-specific cards; (c) receiving one face-up community card; (d) receiving three face-down community cards; (e) determining whether to drop out or to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, and if a determination is made to drop out, collecting winnings or forfeiting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards, and if a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, placing a buy bet and allowing one of the face-down community cards to be flipped so as to be face-up; and (f) if a determination was made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up each time step (e) was performed, repeating step (e) until no community cards remain face-down, and collecting winnings or forfeiting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards.
 14. A method of dealing a card game played by at least one player utilizing at least one deck of playing cards, said method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving an ante bet; (b) dealing at least one player-specific card; (c) dealing at least one face-up community card; (d) dealing at least one face-down community card; (e) receiving from the player an indication of a decision whether to drop out or to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, and if a determination is made to drop out, paying winnings or collecting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards, and if a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, receiving a buy bet and flipping over one of the face-down community cards so as to be face-up; and (f) if a determination was made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up each time step (e) was performed, repeating step (e) until no community cards remain face-down, and paying winnings or collecting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein said step of dealing at least one player-specific card comprises the step of dealing two player-specific cards.
 16. The method of claim 14 wherein said step of dealing at least one player-specific card comprises the step of dealing, face down, at least one player-specific card.
 17. The method of claim 14 wherein said step of dealing at least one face-up community card comprises the step of dealing one face-up community card.
 18. The method of claim 14 wherein said step of dealing at least one face-down community card comprises the step of dealing three face-down community cards.
 19. The method of claim 14 wherein the ante bet comprises $5.00.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein each buy bet comprises $1.00.
 21. The method of claim 19 wherein said step of dealing at least one face-down community card comprises the step of dealing three face-down community cards, wherein the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises $1.00, wherein the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises $1.00, and wherein the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises zero.
 22. The method of claim 19 wherein said step of dealing at least one face-down community card comprises the step of dealing three face-down community cards, wherein the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises $1.00, wherein the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises $2.00, and wherein the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises $3.00.
 23. The method of claim 14 wherein said step of dealing at least one face-down community card comprises the step of dealing three face-down community cards, wherein the buy bet associated with the first face-down community card comprises a first amount of money, wherein the buy bet associated with the second face-down community card comprises a second amount of money, and wherein the buy bet associated with the third face-down community card comprises zero.
 24. The method of claim 23 wherein the first amount of money and the second amount of money are identical.
 25. The method of claim 14 wherein said card game is dealt automatically on a computer.
 26. A method of dealing a card game played by at least one player utilizing at least one deck of playing cards, said method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving an ante bet; (b) dealing two face-down player-specific cards; (c) dealing one face-up community card; (d) dealing three face-down community cards; (e) receiving from the player an indication of a decision whether to drop out or to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, and if a determination is made to drop out, paying winnings or collecting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards, and if a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up, receiving a buy bet and flipping over one of the face-down community cards so as to be face-up; and (f) if a determination was made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up each time step (e) was performed, repeating step (e) until no community cards remain face-down, and paying winnings or collecting the ante bet based upon a comparison of a payout chart with a standard poker hand formed from the player-specific cards and from the face-up community cards.
 27. An apparatus for facilitating the dealing and play of a card game played by at least one player utilizing at least one deck of playing cards, said apparatus comprising: an area for each player designated for receiving an ante bet; an area for each player designated for receiving at least one player-specific card; an area designated for receiving at least one face-up community card; an area designated for receiving at least one face-down community card; and an area designated for receiving from the player a buy bet each time a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up.
 28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said area designated for receiving at least one face-down community card comprises three separate areas designated for receiving three face-down community cards.
 29. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said area designated for receiving at least one face-up community card consists of a single area designated for receiving a single face-up community card.
 30. An apparatus for facilitating the dealing and play of a card game played by at least one player utilizing at least one deck of playing cards, said apparatus comprising: an area for each player designated for receiving an ante bet; an area for each player designated for receiving at least one player-specific card; an area designated for receiving one face-up community card; three separate areas designated for receiving three face-down community cards; and an area designated for receiving from the player a buy bet each time a determination is made to pay to have one of the face-down community cards flipped face-up. 